Michael Collette wrote: > Discussion: > --------------------- > Which of these points is best for Mozilla in the long run? Are there > alternative methods to be considered? What are the pros and cons of the > various approaches?
I think the best solution would be to keep the mbox format, and have Mozilla just remove the attachment portion of the message when deleting it. Rather that writing header+body+encoded_attachment, strip out the encoded_attachment part when writing to the mbox. It should be trivial, since we already know how to add the encoded portion to outgoing mails, this is just the same process in reverse. Deleting messages is the same. You just remove a portion of the mbox and connect the two halves. Remove the attachment portion of the header, and the attachment portion of the body. This way we retain all the advantages of the standard mbox format, and have a simple method of removing the attachment. Dealing with AV programs is more of an evangelism problem I think. Frankly, they should be able to strip out an attachment from an MBOX without destroying it. I'll volunteer to be on that evangelism team. Working around minor shortcomings (or common ones like we have to with quirks mode) is one thing. Having to cope with massive misbehavior is another entirely. Whatever we choose, I feel strongly we need to retain the mbox format. The possibility that it will break digital signatures is only valid to the point that if a signed message contains a virus, the sender has bigger problems than verification of identity. I really wouldn't worry about it. At worst, relnote that deleting attachments may break digital signatures. -- jesus X [ Booze-fueled paragon of pointless cruelty and wanton sadism. ] email [ jesusx @ who.net ] web [ http://www.mozillanews.org ] tag [ The Universe: It's everywhere you want to be. ] warning [ "I hate cats. You never know if they're dead." - E. Schrodinger ]
